Shadows
by 1mperfctions
Summary: Echizen Ryuji is always second place. Always. Rikkaidai is the one place where he hopes he can prove his worth.
1. Chapter 1

_**So, this is my first story on Fanfiction...  
**_

_**I don't own Prince of Tennis or the cover photo (I just tried to find the closest resemblance of Ryuji on Google)**_

_**Also, please bear with me for any mistakes I make.**_

**A PARK LOCATED SOMEWHERE IN TOKYO**

_***POK* ~ *POK* ~ *POK***_

Echizen Ryuji, the fraternal twin of Echizen Ryoma. He took after his mother with plain brown hair and dark chocolate-like eyes.

He grunted again as he hit the ball – hard against the grey wall.

Although Ryuji and Ryoma had always been together, the latter always stuck in his brother's shadow. His grades, looks, social status… Ryoma was number 1. The only thing on par with each other was tennis, Nanjiroh having taught them in the early stages of life. Although Ryuji had been somewhat less competent in the moves his father had tried to teach him and developed his own style. So when his brother had asked _'Why Rikkaidai Fuzoku'_, he'd simply shrugged his shoulders, telling Ryoma it gave him a better chance to prove himself.

Time passed as he kept slamming the poor ball into the wall, the sun slowly beginning to set as others that were hanging around the tennis gardens. Ryuji was breathing heavily from the intense and long drawn out self-training. He hit the ball one last time, using all of the strength he could muster before catching the ball in his left hand. Sighing, he turned around and picked up his tennis bag, packing everything away before walking home.

It seemed that he was the last one there, and he felt contented at the fact that his stamina had improved – once again.

His walk home continued on in peace, the silence only broken by the soft breathing and light footsteps.

"I'm home." Ryuji called softly, taking off his shoes and shutting the door behind him.

Rinko shuffled out from the kitchen and smiled, "Welcome home honey. Dinner is almost ready."

"Japanese?" His eyes lit up hopefully.

She shook her head, "Sorry, not today. For breakfast before your fist day at school, okay?"

He nodded his head, gesturing that he'd be upstairs in his room.

His room was small and tidy, he had few belongings and he mostly preferred to keep it that way. There was a desk in the corner by the window and a bed on the other side. Against the wall of the door, was a small wardrobe, his school uniform hanging off the knob.

It consisted of a blue and white striped tie with a plain button up shirt and black pants. Simple, (even though he'd have to get his mother to tie the tie for him tomorrow) but much nicer than what Ryoma had to wear.

Although they'd moved in a few weeks ago from America, he still had one or two boxes to unpack – those being more decorative object to place around the room.

"Ryoma… Ryuji… Nanjiroh! Dinner is ready!" His mother called.

At that moment, his stomach grumbled, asking to be fed as a chorus of _'Okays'_ were shouted by the men throughout the Echizen household.

**THE NEXT DAY**

"Ryuji! It's nice to see you up and about early." His mother chirped as the said boy walked into the room with a yawn.

His body clock never really allowed him to sleep in, waking up at around 6 o'clock every morning – which was even worse when they'd just moved from America. He'd usually go out for a jog, but today he couldn't quite be bothered. It would be bad if he'd missed the train to Kanagawa.

It was now 6.30 and Ryuji had half an hour before his train came He handed Rinko his tie as she smiled and wrapped it around his neck, flipping the blue and white striped object around to form a tie.

"My little boy is growing up!" she gushed, standing back and admiring her youngest son.

"Well, breakfast is ready. I don't think you should wait for Ryoma to come down. You'll be late otherwise." Rinko chided before leading him to their dinner table and pushing his shoulders down firmly, forcing him to sit.

The smell of food wafted up his nose and he licked his lips greedily, picking up his chopsticks. "Itadakimasu."

**RIKKAIDAI FUZOKU**

Ryuji yawned as he tried to focus on the principal's speech. He just droned on and on, repeating everything thing that was probably said year after year.

Through the crowd on seemingly plain and boring people – one of them including himself – he saw what he would label as the… peculiar ones. He could see a red head next to a tanned (and not to mention bald) boy blowing green bubbles. The two sat in the third-years section and were quietly chatting away. A light brown haired boy with opaque-like glasses who sat behind them leant forward, telling them to be quiet whilst a bleached haired teen snatched his glasses, putting them on and imitating the poor boy.

Ryuji smirk inwardly, rising an eyebrow at the scene they were causing, although no one really seemed to care.

"… and I hope the freshman have a great start to the year." There was a polite round-of-applause as the student council president stepped down from the podium (Ryuji hadn't even noticed he'd gotten up to give his speech), letting the principal take the stage once again.

He wiped some sweat from his brow, "Also, please remember that it is required to sign up for a club activity. All students are dismissed except freshmen, who will now be assigned their homerooms and schedules will be given out."

The hall became a loud thunder of footsteps as all the upperclassmen filed out of the only exit, the occasional push and shove to be able to get out faster and set up their club activities for the new students to check out.

Rikkaidai was full of talented students, and everyone wanted new members to join.

"Well then," the principal cleared his throat, "The teachers who are lined up at the front here are holding up a sign for your class, could all students please line up in front of your teacher which has your class on it."

There was a shuffling of chairs as they scraped against the floor boards, all of the students walking slowly to their homeroom teacher, who gave out their schedules accordingly.

"Echizen Ryuji!" The teacher called out. The said boy put his hand up as the teacher walked toward him, a smile on his face, "Here is your schedule, I'm your homeroom teacher, Hanzaki Sensei, pleased to meet you acquaintance."

Ryuji bowed down in respect, "Echizen Ryuji, please treat me well!"

"Ah, such nice manners." The man gave a quick ruffle to his hair and moved on to the next student.

**TENNIS CLUB ROOM **

"So Sanada, did you notice any promising people in the opening ceremony?" Yukimura asked, a passive smile placed on his features.

The stoic boy just grunted and gave a slight shrug.

"I heard that there might be some fresh talent within our midst. How good do you think they'll be?" The captain continued.

Sanada gave another grunt and shrug, paying no mind to the measly freshmen who were coming to sign up in around ten minutes. Most just joined for the sake of proclaiming they were on the team with the national title, whereas others just had no talent or respect for the sport at all. He'd have to whip them into shape later.

He gave a small sigh and turned back to the non-regulars who were busy holding practice matches with one another – trying to impress the captain and the vice-captain to hopefully qualify for a spot in the regulars' tournament. He'd have to go through their stats with Yanagi later.

"Sanada?" Yukimura asked again.

"Ah…" He mumbled in reply.

The two continued to watch the non-regulars as the new students began to run toward the tennis courts, in hopes of submitting their club application first. A line began to form as the regulars walked outside, everyone stopping what they were doing and bowing down in respect.

"It's the Child of God…" hushed whispers resounded throughout the crowd of freshmen.

"And don't forget The Emperor! I heard he's really strict!"

The tennis club members who were playing practice matches dispersed and the regulars then took the court.

Yukimura stopped two third years and asked them to monitor the freshman crowd, and then moving on to ask another two to start accepting forms at the small table that had been set up.

Looking at the line, there seemed to be almost half of the freshmen boys' population wanting to join the tennis club, although most would probably quit by the end of the session.

As soon as all of the applications were handed through, Yukimura clapped his hand to signal the start of the training session.

"Hello, I am Yukimura, your captain for this year." The feminine looking boy greeted.

"Sanada. Vice-captain." The capped boy grunted.

The first years seemed to look up at Yukimura, their eyes shining.

"First years! I will tell you this. If you are not here to be serious, please leave the courts now! We have no use for you." Sanada yelled, causing some of them to wince at his booming voice.

"Yes… I advise you to do so." Yukimura's smile was enough to send shivers down their spines as a few whimpered and backed away.

Some grumbled and left, complaining that 'being popular' wasn't worth it anyway. They'd never reach the regulars spot.

As people slowly left, the rather large crowd soon became 20-30 people, who still looked eager to start.

"Well then, to start with, how about 10 laps around the courts?" Yukimura asked politely, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Okay!" They all bowed down and rushed off, trying to finish the laps as fast as possible to impress the regulars.

As they all sprinted around the courts, huffing and puffing, the regulars noticed one of the first years jogging at the back of the group, not seeming to care how fast he finished his laps or not.

"Someone seems to know the meaning of a warm up…" Marui stated as Jackal, who stood beside him, nodded.

"The others might pull a muscle." The tanned boy fretted.

"Well, at least that boy won't be exhausted later on as well. You'd need to conserve some energy for the freak training Sanada's going to give them and hopefully drive about half of them away, as per usual." Niou smirked, noting how he brown haired boy hanging at the back of the crowd – yet still keeping up – wasn't as tired as the other boys were.

"Maybe he's a stamina player?" Yagyuu spoke Niou's thoughts.

"Piyo." The bleach-haired boy shrugged.

By the seventh lap, half of the boy's had slowed down and a few of them had dropped out – lying on the ground in a tired sweaty mess.

The other half still seemed to be in good shape, but if you gave them another 10 laps, they were sure to wear down.

After a few minutes, one by one, they all finally finished their laps, the plain, brown haired boy amongst the small group that had finished first.

"Since you have now warmed up, you'll do 100 racket swings of both forehand and backhand. We will then split you up into groups for some short matches to see where your tennis skills are at, before the other members of the club resume practice and you all pick up balls." Yukimura said.

"Okay!" The first years chorused as the mysterious boy seemed to raise an eyebrow at their actions.

Of course, Sanada just had to notice.

"You there! Do you have something to say?" The crowd parted so that the boy was in plain sight.

"Nothing." He shrugged his shoulders. His eyes showed little emotion and his tone was blunt.

"Do not disrespect your senpai!" Sanada seethed. These stupid freshmen always had him on a short fuse, "What is your name?"

"Echizen Ryuji."


	2. Chapter 2

_**I hope you like this chapter, I don't think I'm very descriptive with some things, and the start might be boring. Sorry, please tell me what you think, and maybe how I can improve.**_

_**To all of you who followed, favourite and reviewed, thank you all so much! I know 9 follows isn't much compared to other stories, but I'm really happy you're enjoying the story so far.**_

_**I could rant for hours, but I think you all want to read the story more…**_

_**I don't own Prince of Tennis, Konomi Takeshi sensei… can you please give it to me for Christmas?**_

**RIKKAIDAI TENNIS COURTS**

Sanada rubbed at his temples, a headache taking over. He'd slapped the poor freshman, who had fallen to the floor and still didn't show anything – and had ordered everyone to start on their swings like nothing had happened. Most of them couldn't even hold a racket properly.

Off to the side, the boy of whom he now knew as 'Echizen' was swinging his racket effortlessly. He was possibly the only one who wasn't sweating and only one of the few who had the right grip on his racket.

The minutes went by like hours, and every swing that the first years made was already torture enough.

When it was finally over, the regulars came over and split them up into groups.

The regulars would umpire the short game, and then report back to Yukimura, Sanada or Yanagi about their skill level.

To make each match fair, the players would each serve alternately after every point instead of game. There wasn't enough time for a full set, so a game would have to do.

Ryuji was stuck with the most nervous looking group. In his eyes, he saw some future potential in one or two of the players, but that was only his opinion. The regular who lead them introduced himself as Jackal.

He seemed nice… a bit too motherly though.

"Hmm, let's see, first up, why don't we have Wakame and Sakamoto-kun up against each other first?" Jackal looked down at his short list of first years that were in the group, "Then Echizen and Katoshi-kun, and finally, Tsumade and Ginta-kun."

"Yes sir!" They replied as Wakame and Sakamoto immediately stepped onto the court and the others watched from the sideline.

Sakamoto took the first serve, throwing the ball up into the air before hitting the ball as hard as he could. It had an average speed, but the control was poor.

Wakame hit it back anyway, the ball barely making it over the net as the other boy ran toward it, tripping over as he did so. The ball rolled past him as he sighed and stood back up, dusting himself off.

"0 –15!" Jackal called as the two players went back to their respective base line.

Wakame got ready to serve – he was the opposite of Sakamoto – the serve was slow, but had great control. Sakamoto smashed the ball back toward Wakame's side of the court. He tried to receive it, but missed completely.

"15–15!"

As the two continued to play, the game only lasted for another mere 5 minutes with basic service and return aces, Wakame taking the lead.

Jackal called for Ryuji and Katoshi to enter the court.

The game started with Ryuji's serve, and he decided to go easy on him, returning the ball to the same spot every time, resulting in a long drawn out rally.

Jackal noticed this almost immediately and started to pay more attention to the game. There was something about the boy that he couldn't quite figure out. He seemed… Jackal wracked his brain for the word, but never came up with one, so he gave up.

The rally continued for a few more minutes before Ryuji finally hit the ball slightly faster than before.

Katoshi swung at the same pace, but the ball accidently hit the rim of his racket, causing the ball to fly high into a lob. The Brazilian turned to watch and see if Ryuji would do anything, but instead, he stood there, letting the ball pass over him and drop just outside of the court.

"1-15–0!" Jackal called, _'Nice watch.'_ He thought.

From then on, Ryuji let all of the balls pass him, giving Katoshi a quick win. The boy gave a cheer as Ryuji walked off the court with an expressionless face.

'_Had he let Katoshi-kun win on purpose?'_ Thoughts ran through Jackal's mind as the last pair stepped up, their game also finishing within minutes.

Jackal climbed down from the referee's chair in a daze, absentmindedly sending the 6 first year boys off to become ball boys.

"…ckal. JACKAL!" Marui frantically waved a hand in front of his face.

The boy snapped out of his reverie and looked up at his doubles partner, "Eh?"

"Stop spacing out." Marui pouted, "Why are you spacing out anyway?" he peered over his shoulder at Jackal's score sheet, "Is that Echizen boy not so good after all?"

Jackal shook his head, "No… he's probably good enough to be a regular."

**CLASS 1-B**

"Okay, since today is a half day due to club sign ups, how about we all introduce ourselves?" Hanzaki sensei gained everyone's attention, "Come on, let's push all the desks out to the side and create a circle!"

Ryuji inwardly groaned, but did what he was told. How could this teacher be so chirpy and upbeat when a particular third year vice-captain was so strict and boring?

When the circle was finally created, Ryuji sat quietly, listening to people introduce themselves. Some were modest and some just bragged about how awesome they were. He sighed, there was no one interesting in his class. One of them seemed to be at the tennis club this morning, but he was the only one he could recognise.

It was finally Ryuji's turn to stand up, and everyone looked expectantly, hoping to find more out about the mysterious boy who seemed to refuse talking to his class mates.

"Echizen Ryuji." He bowed, "I like the colour green." He simply said before sitting down.

"Ah, and what about a hobby of yours, Echizen-san?" The teacher prodded for more as they all anticipated his answer.

"Tennis."

Multiple breaths were let out.

"I knew it…" someone mumbled.

"Yeah, he seems like that kind of guy that thinks better of himself."

"Do you think he's good?" another asked.

"Nah, not as good as the regulars… They're monsters."

Ryuji blinked. What was up with all of those expectations?

The teacher finally settled the class down and once again began to move around the circle getting to 'know' each other better as class mates. They were stuck together for a whole year after all.

**AFTER SCHOOL**

The rest of the day had passed by peacefully with no problems, except for the occasional throb in Ryuji's head from landing on the ground earlier that day. He'd quickly packed his things, wanting to avoid people befriending him before rushing out of the school and down the street.

His tennis bag bumped against his back as he silently fumed at his 'vice-captain'. What kind of person would have the nerve to slap a person younger than him? Shouldn't he be expelled or something?

He could feel his anger building up and he quickly tried to calm himself down. Just to his luck, he spotted a nearby public tennis court and walked over to it.

It was crowded with high school students that seemed to have either ditched, or finished school early. They were all making snarky remarks at each other as the pairs versed each other.

Ryuji sighed. They didn't look like the type to share, but if he was already slapped today, nothing seemed much worse at the moment. It was worth a try, in his opinion.

"Ne, can I play too?" He asked, loud enough for the teenagers at the back of the group to hear.

They turned around, "Heh, only doubles here today. You don't seem to have a pair, so you can't play."

Ryuji nodded in understanding, "Then, can one of you three be my partner?"

One of them – an orange haired boy – chuckled, "Us? Pair up with you? Sorry kiddo, you don't look like you'll be able to keep up with us."

Another of them grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him through to the front of the crowd so that he could watch the heated match from the sidelines.

The three boys also moved to the front, wanting to see Ryuji's reaction, but looked slightly pissed when they got none. Ryuji's face remained as bored as ever as he watched the yellow fuzzy ball fly back and forth.

"You really think you're better than them, huh?" the orange haired one sneered, "You know, the pair over on that side have been undefeated for the past two months on these street courts."

The freshman shrugged.

"Tch, you really are that cocky, aren't you? Fine. I'll be your partner." He picked up his racket just as the 'undefeated pairing' scored their match point, "Oi, Yoshida, Junsei. Me and this kid are up next."

"Wanting to lose that much, Fukawa?" Yoshida spoke, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

The boy, now known as Fukawa, chuckled again, "Nah, the shortie wants to play. He had no partner, so I took pity and volunteered."

"Alright… you can serve first then."

Fukawa looked over to Ryuji, who'd just stepped onto the court, "You know where to stand, right?"

The brunette just silently nodded, getting into position, "Your best server, please." He mumbled loud enough for Fukawa to hear.

"Tch, cocky." He moved to the service line and bounced the ball up and down with his racket a few times.

The game soon started, beginning with a fast return ace from their opponents.

"Ne, are you sure the kid can play at all?" Junsei laughed as Fukuwa served again – a little slower this time.

Yoshida hit it back with a clean slice back toward Ryuji, who had his head ducked down, his long fringe shading his eyes.

He suddenly looked back up and swiftly returned the ball to the other side of the net, bouncing before Junsei sent it back with pinpoint precision.

A rally began, Ryuji mostly hogging the ball. It was basically a two-against-one match and Fukuwa was beginning to get annoyed just standing there.

He ran forward to reach the ball before Ryuji did, making the ball hit the tip of his racket and fly back with a lob.

"Chance ball!" Yoshida called, jumping up to smash it down on Ryuji-Fukuwa's side of the court. The pair failed to return the smash, earning the Yoshida-Junsei pair another point. They hi-fived.

Fukuwa snuck a glance at Ryuji to see if he would say anything about taking his shot, but when he said nothing, he let it go before serving once again.

A rally broke out yet again, but this time Fukuwa seemed to be taking most of the balls, Ryuji occasionally pitching in an effort if he couldn't reach the ball on time.

'_There's something suspicious about the way the younger boy plays'_, Fukuwa thought, _'like he's hiding everything he can actually do. Or maybe he really is just a beginner.'_

Meanwhile, out of the corner of his eye, Ryuji spotted the one person who he was trying to avoid. Sanada. He was still dressed in the school uniform and was carrying all of his bags. He was probably just returning home, Ryuji figured. But why did he leave school so late? There wasn't any training afterschool today… basically none of the clubs had an afternoon session today. Deciding to turn his attention back to the game at hand, he looked away from Sanada.

Just in time as well, as the ball was returned in his direction and he quickly lowered his racket and bent his knees to perform a drop shot.

The ball landed with a soft thud and the crowd's cheers died down.

He stood back up and gave a slight bow, "I forfeit. Thank you for the good match." Ryuji then promptly left the courts, picking up his bags along the way and putting his tennis racket away.

No one bothered to call him back, too stunned by the sudden announcement to even function properly.

He was already halfway down the street with his music plugged in by the time they realised.

**SANADA RESIDENCE**

There was no doubt about it. It was Echizen that had been playing along with the high schoolers down at the street courts that afternoon.

Sanada sighed with reluctance, shifting through a certain set of papers before putting in his final decision – whether he thought he would regret it or not – it was for the better of the team.

He carefully wrote Echizen's name in the B block table for the ranking tournament. He probably wouldn't win with the people he was put up against in his block. He seemed good enough to be at the level of a third year after all.

It's just to fill in that last empty space for the tournament anyway. Sanada convinced himself.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thank you all so much for the follows and favourites! It's made me feel ecstatic! I mean, 18 followers and 12 faves yet I'm only at chapter 3! :)**_

_**And for the reviews… you don't know how happy I am to get such long reviews :') It kinda shows me how much you guys all care. xD (A special thank you to Yuki, a guest, who gave me an idea for this chapter)**_

_**I hope you enjoy this chapter, although it's mostly the lead up to the regulars ranking tournament anyway… It's bonding time!  
I think it's a bit OOC though.**_

_**I don't own PRINCE OF TENNIS!**_

_**And please review, it makes me happy :D**_

**ECHIZEN HOUSEHOLD**

Ryuji walked up the stairs of the temple to find his father casually flipping through a 'mature' magazine while ringing the bell.

"Oi, Oyaji. Mum will be mad if she finds out you still perv on those things." The brunette took out his earphones.

Nanjiro looked up and chuckled, "Ah, but you won't tell her that, will you?"

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. He didn't care. Nanjiro was just being immature.

Walking past him and toward the house, he opened the door and called out in greeting. Almost immediately, his mother called back. He headed up to his room and placed his bags by the door.

Ryuji figured that Ryoma was probably home by now. If Karupin wasn't fawning over him, then she'd definitely be with Ryoma, vying for his attention. She loved him more anyway. Just like everyone else.

There was a knock on his door, "Ryuji, you in there?" Ryoma spoke.

"Come in." he opened the door.

Ryoma stepped into the room and almost immediately made himself comfortable on Ryuji's bed.

"Thanks." He muttered, petting Karupin who was nestled in his arms, "How was your first day at Rikkaidai?"

The younger twin shrugged, "It was okay. What about you?"

You see, as they grew up, the gap between them grew further apart, Ryoma advanced in everything, and Ryuji had to stay back and pick up the pieces. The two often tried to talk things out, and get to know each other more, but it usually lead to an awkward silence within the room.

Twins or not, they weren't even that close.

"Fine. They're all annoying." Ryoma nodded, "Did you make any friends?"

"They all think I'm stuck up."

"Sounds about right…" Ryoma chuckled slightly.

They both breathed out, and silence ensued.

"Are the people in the tennis club any good?" Ryuji finally brought up the topic that they'd often resort to using; tennis. It was the only thing in which they really shared their love for, after all.

Ryoma leant back on his bed, Karupin jumping off of him and streaking out of the room. "The freshman are all horrible, I haven't really seen anyone else play. I have to be a ball boy… can you believe it?" he asked incredulously.

"Me too. Although some of the first years have future potential, I guess. We have a really serious Jiji for a vice-captain." He said monotonously.

"Strict?" Ryoma asked for more information.

"Yeah."

"Bald?"

"Probably. He was wearing a cap. Even when I saw him after school. Maybe he has a bald spot?" Ryuji shrugged from his position leaning against the wall. He picked up his racket, "Wanna play before dinner?"

Ryoma hopped off the bed, "Sure."

**THE NEXT DAY**

"So if _y_ is equal to _x squared _then the graph would be parabola. Now, can anyone tell me what the turning point would be?" Their maths teacher quickly finished the diagram and scanned the room, "Echizen-san?"

"The turning point would be…" he quickly looked down at his notes, "Zero."

"Correct." She gave a satisfied nod that at least someone in the room was paying attention, "Then can you state whether it's a minimum or a maximum?"

"Minimum."

"Correct again." She turned around to write on the board, "Now, by the time you finish writing the notes on the board, the bell for lunch should have gone."

There was a shuffling of paper and scratching of pencils as the class wrote their notes in silence, finishing before the bell went – just like the teacher had said.

Everyone packed their things away as the teacher left the room and people started to bring out their lunches.

Ryuji stuck his hand in his bag and brought out a small bento before quietly leaving the room alone. He hadn't bothered to try and make friends – because it'd always been like this. People would fawn over Ryoma, and only talk to him if it was something to do with his brother, or they need answers for work since Ryoma was always in the class above him.

He didn't particularly know where he was heading, but he seemed to keep going up, and up. Weaving through the crowd of rowdy boys rushing down the stairs holding a soccer ball, walking past groups of girls gossiping and flirting with guys in the corridors, and finally, he reached the top of the last staircase.

It was now quite obvious where he was, there was even a sign on the door in front of him that said 'roof top'.

Turning the handle on the door and pushing it open, he found himself in quite a garden. The cool breeze rushed pasted him as he stepped onto the luscious rooftop full of different pots of flowers and plants. He figured it probably belonged to the gardening club and brushed past the sweet aroma of nature.

Sitting behind a small block of concrete and leaning against the fence, he placed his bento on the ground as was about to plug in his music when he heard the door creak open again.

"Mou, Niou, stop calling me fat!" someone exclaimed, "It's bad for my health!"

"You know, for a genius, you should know that sweets are bad for your health, not calling you fat." Another boy retorted.

"Saa, who wants to help me water the plants?" A calm, familiar voice spoke over the others.

"I can."

"Why thank you, Jackal."

Ryuji then realised the people who had just entered the roof top were the tennis regulars. He shrunk further behind the slab of concrete if possible.

The bickering in the background continued as Ryuji started to eat, not wanting his presence to be known.

He honestly didn't want to associate with the regulars as much as possible – especially if he wasn't given a warm welcome with open arms. They probably thought he was stuck up like everyone else thought.

"Boy'a." A navy haired captain suddenly peered over at him, "Are you coming out of hiding anytime soon?"

Ryuji jumped slightly as his eyes widened, "I – uh…" he trailed off.

"Ne, Yukimura senpai, who is it?" a boy with tangled curls came into view, "Huh, since when were you here? The rooftop is for tennis regulars only."

"Kirihara, don't be rude… he's just a freshman." Jackal tugged him away, "Are you okay, Echizen-san?"

The said boy stood up and brushed himself off, "I'm fine." He grumbled, walking toward the exit.

"No, no, no. You can stay." Yukimura reassured, leading him over to where the rest of the regulars sat.

Sanada immediately noticed him and glared.

"Now, I'm sure you all know that this is Echizen Ryuji." Yukimura introduced, "My full name is Yukimura Seiichi. That's Marui Bunta, Niou Masaharu, Yagyuu Hiroshi, Jackal Kuwahara, Yanagi Renji, Kirihara Akaya, and of course, you already know Sanada Genichiro." The captain pointed to each of them in turn.

"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." The light brown haired boy pushed up his opaque glasses.

Ryuji bowed back, "It's nice to meet you too, Yagyuu senpai."

"Echizen-san… now why does that name sound familiar?" Yanagi wondered aloud, scribbling in a small notebook.

"Puri." Niou smirked suspiciously. Ryuji decided to try and not get on his bad side; that smile wasn't of innocence and purity.

"Jackal." Marui suddenly spoke, looked at the tanned boy with wide, pleading eyes.

He stopped mid chew and sighed, his shoulders drooping as he reached into the small container beside him and pulled out another slice of strawberry shortcake.

"Thanks Jackal, you're the best!" He happily took the slice and began to gobble it up.

"So, Echizen, why do you play tennis?" Kirihara shouted excitedly. The loud voice yelled right into his ear, making Ryuji grimace. And since when did this seaweed head decide that it was okay to drop the honorifics?

"I play it, because I like it." Ryuji gave a dull look of 'why else?'

"And, why do you like it?" He pressed further.

"Takes my mind off of things."

"Like what?" Kirihara asked. Ryuji didn't bother to reply, so instead, he continued, "Well, if you're here to defeat the three demons, then you have to wait for me to first! I'll be the first to defeat them." He said enthusiastically.

"The three demons?" Ryuji questioned.

"Yeah; Yukimura buchou, Sanada fukubuchou, and Yanagi senpai the data man. They're the three demons of Rikkaidai." The seaweed head said proudly, "And I'll be the one to defeat them."

"I see." Ryuji nodded absentmindedly, "But winning isn't everything though, you know. Just proving your worth is enough."

"But proving your worth would mean winning… right?" Yanagi asked, wanted to get an insight on Ryuji's thoughts.

"No, winning is just winning. Proving you're worthy means that you're at least capable of winning. You see, tennis isn't just an active sport, it's a psychological game too. When you lose, you learn from it and improve. When you win… you just win and train harder for next time with no actual goal – there's no one you know that you might have to try harder to beat. Losing gives you that mentality of a tennis player. Winning over and over again just makes you arrogant and makes your first loss harder on you than it really is." It was the first time anyone had heard Ryuji speak so much. And probably the last.

No one spoke after Ryuji said that. They could understand what he meant, but their minds just couldn't grasp the fact that losing was also an option. Ever since they entered Rikkaidai, it was always win, win, win.

"You're wrong. Winning is strength. At Rikkaidai, losing is taboo." Sanada said, making the others nod along with him.

Ryuji was just a freshman, they didn't expect him to know.

Speaking of which, they hadn't even noticed him leave.

**LATER THAT DAY****  
**

"Yukimura!" All of the regulars called out.

They all crowded toward him as he fell to the ground, clutching at his heart in pain.

"Someone call an ambulance!" Sanada yelled as people waiting on the platform looked onward in fear.

"Yukimura, get up! Please!" They all urged him on. But he didn't, he just lay there, his eyes scrunched closed. A tear escaped his eye from the pain and no one else rushed forward to help him.

And it was then the news spread like wild fire; The Child of God had fallen.

**TWO DAYS LATER**

"Did you hear? I heard a freshman is in the ranking tournament!" whispers resounded throughout the school grounds as Ryuji entered through the gate.

They all turned to look at him expectantly with wide eyes.

"Do you know who is in the tournament?" they surrounded him for questioning.

He turned a ghostly pale as his violently shook his head and muttered incoherent words. His began to look sicker and sicker when someone finally took pity on him and pulled him out of the crowd.

"T-Thank you, Yanagi senpai." He breathed out a small sigh of relief. He looked up at the taller boy, who seemed to be in deep thought.

"Echizen-san, could it be that… perhaps… you're claustrophobic?" Rikkaidai's data master asked.

Ryuji fidgeted for a moment, debating on whether he should tell him or not, "Just a little." He finally answered. As long as he still had some personal space and some room to breathe he was fine.

A familiar notebook appeared out of nowhere as Yanagi wrote something down with a nod.

"Well then. Good luck in the regular's tournament." He said shortly afterward, turning around to walk off.

The young boy looked as clueless as ever as he made his way to class.

"Echizen-san!" People called him over, "Look, you're in Block B for the matches."

"Congratulations!" Everyone suddenly became friendly toward him, wanting to know him better to brag about being friends with a potential Rikkaidai regular.

"First years are usually never put in the ranking tournament, so you must be really good!" They all exclaimed.

But one freshman stepped up haughtily, a despiteful look on his face, "But Yukimura-sama is in hospital, how do you know if that kid hasn't done something to be able to grab a spot in the regulars. Have any of you seen him play? Is he really that good?"

"T-That's actually true you know?" A girl spoke timidly, "W-What if he infected Yukimura-sama?"

They all suddenly turned on him, like little sheep following the orders of their master, "You poisoned him, didn't you!?"

One by one, they all stepped forward and started throwing insults, lashing out at him with no actual evidence.

"Hey, stop assuming things! Sanada decided of his own free will that Echizen would play in the ranking tournament!" Marui and Jackal appeared behind him, and for once, Ryuji was grateful.

"Leave him alone, please." Jackal asked kindly.

The others grumbled and groaned but left the three alone nonetheless.

Marui looked at him, "You know, because of that, you owe me cake now."

It took all of Ryuji's effort just to nod.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Here is the next chapter!**_

_**I don't own PRINCE OF TENNIS!**_

**RIKKAIDAI FUZOKU**

Ryuji peered at the four sheets of paper pinned to the board. Scanning through, he found his name in the B Block. Secretly, he was surprised, but his face showed no hint of it.

_BLOCK A__  
Sanada Genichiro (3)  
Yanagi Renji (3)  
Kagamine Yamada (2)  
Wakamoto Gou (3)  
Omi Len (3)_

_BLOCK B__  
Kirihara Akaya (2)  
Ichirou Honda (2)  
Fudo Masako (3)  
Echizen Ryuji (1)  
Aoba Watako (3)_

_BLOCK C__  
Daiki Rakun(3)  
Yagyuu Hiroshi (3)  
Niou Masaharu (3)  
Asahi Shinjoku (3)  
Zainen Eichiro (3)_

_BLOCK D__  
Marui Bunta (3)  
Sota Kenji (2)  
Jackal Kuwahara (3)  
Tochiwa Goto (3)  
Tonaka Yoshio (2)_

He took out his music player and checked the time. 8:20, it read. The boy sighed, there was still at least another twenty minutes – assuming the 'Kirihara' boy finished within ten minutes – until his first match against… he scanned the paper again. Fudo Masako, a third year.

Walking away, he decided to wander around and find an isolated place to warm up. He was bored anyway.

It was only a few minutes later when he found the perfect spot, already dressed in his sports gear (a light grey short sleeved shirt and black shorts with white sneakers), some balls and his tennis racket in hand.

He may be good at tennis, but a wall was always the best opponent you can get.

Ryuji took his time to stretch his muscles, completing his dynamics before moving onto his arm stretches. After around 10 minutes, he felt ready to play.

Starting off with an underhand serve, he started volleying against the wall. The beat of the ball rebounding against either the wall or his racket helped him set up a slight rhythm to warm up to. Each ball became harder to return, and Ryuji found himself bending his knees more often and hitting lobs.

Stepping back from the wall a little, he started to let the ball bounce once before connecting it with his racket for the return. He felt calm; his breathing even and footsteps light. His muscles began to loosen and he knew that he'd warmed up properly at the least. Now all that was left was hoping he could become a regular.

From far away, he heard the cheers of a match ending – assuming the more favoured club member had won his game.

He headed back to where his bag sat and picked it up, his game should be starting anytime soon.

Tapping his racket on his shoulder a few times, he slung his bag over his other shoulder and stuck his hand in his pocket before walking toward his block to go up against the seemingly snarky third year.

As soon as he stepped onto the court, the other boy waved his racket around wildly.

"Oi, kid, don't cry when you lose." Fudo yelled, 'warning' him and making it seem as though he was a threat. With Yukimura gone, and the number of original regulars in each block changed, most B block students were hopeful for that extra spot in the regulars. Because of that, they became quite cocky.

Ryuji wasn't fazed though; he'd faced hundreds of players just like him. Tennis players who thought they were above everyone else, but they knew they were bad, so they picked on the younger players to make themselves feel better.

He shot an indifferent glance toward his opponent who glared back.

"You can serve first, you at least deserve a small benefit out of this game." The boy called out, walking to the receiving position.

Ryuji shrugged, no one was around to watch except the referee anyway. He guessed that everyone was more interested with how the regular matches were going. After all, the crowd around this court had dispersed immediately after Kirihara had won.

"Heh," Ryuji stepped back to the base line, pulling a ball out of his pocket, "Wicked." He said in English, making his opponent cock his head in confusion.

"Are you taunting me!?" It seemed as though Fudo had a short fuse.

As if to reply, Ryuji threw the ball into the air and took his first serve.

**LATER**

"Wha – how… he just…" Fudo sat on the ground, breathing heavily as sweat ran down his forehead. But no, it wasn't sweat from running around. It was a cold sweat.

The second year referee looked quite shocked as well as he gaped onward like a fish, unable to move as Ryuji walked nonchalantly off the court – no one else around to witness what had happened.

"He'll be the next regular…" the second year said, finally regaining his voice. He just knew it. Although he himself wasn't a great player, he knew that the younger boy could rival that potential of his senpai.

. . .

Ryuji headed toward the desk by the club room that had all of the results from everyone else's games.

The light brown haired boy recording down the scores looked up as Ryuji walked up, his shadow looming over the desk.

"Yes? May I help you?" Yagyuu pushed up his glasses.

"Echizen vs Fudo game, Block B. The score was a 6 – 0 to Echizen." He mumbled.

"Oh, really now?" He questioned, but recorded the score anyway, "Your next game is at 11:25 and the following one is at 2:30. Your last game will be tomorrow against Ichirou."

Yagyuu then glanced up to look at Ryuji, who gave an emotionless nod in return and stalked off toward some shady area. Although Ryuji seemed quite mysterious, the way Yagyuu saw him right now, right after a simple match, it was something that he couldn't quite place.

The tennis player broke out of his reverie as he heard footsteps coming toward him.

"Ah, Sanada, how was your game?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.

"6 – 0 against Wakamoto." The stoic boy peered at the rest of the blocks, "The Echizen boy has already finished his game?"

The gentleman of the regulars gave a slight nod, causing Sanada to frown. At this, Yagyuu became confused. It seemed as though Sanada didn't take a strong liking to the boy, yet placed him in the tournament anyway?

But then again, maybe he wanted to test the Echizen.

He shrugged the thought away. He was quite interested to see how well Echizen would fare along the way.

. . .

"Obviously Sanada, Yanagi, Niou, Marui, Yagyuu, Jackal and Kirihara-san are going to be the regulars… but with Yukimura-sama gone… who else from the B block do you think will win?" a third year fan girl talked to her friends excitedly.

"Mmm, I think maybe Aoba-san or Ichirou-san. I heard Fudo lost to the _freshman_." One of her posse pouted 'innocently' in thought.

"Yeah! I mean apparently the kid was only picked because he was the only one who didn't really seem to be interested in becoming a regular, so that must mean that the kid isn't even that good, which means Fudo must be even worse." Another one piped in.

"Um, that totally didn't make sense." Everyone sent her a pointed glance.

The three suddenly turned to see Niou score his match point against Daiki and cheered.

"KYAA! Go Niou-sama!" They squealed, forgetting about the earlier conversation.

Behind them, a first year girl – who had heard their conversation – pondered upon it. She'd caught a glance of his match against Fudo, and it wasn't that the third year was _bad_. It just seemed like the younger player was too _good_.

The girl walked away, still deep in her thoughts. That's when she decided she'd go and watch the next game at the B block that would start in just a little under an hour and a half.

**UNDER A LARGE OAK TREE**

Ryuji leaned back on the tree trunk and took a swig from his water bottle. He looked on at the clusters of students around the tennis courts, watching groups of people run back and forth, trying to catch a glimpse of two regulars play in different blocks.

He felt a small tug at his chest, recalling the times he'd sit off on the sidelines, watching people cheer for Ryoma back in America.

He sighed softly, the fringe of his brown hair blowing up from the motion.

"Um… excuse me…" a voice called from beside him.

He looked up sharply, finding himself facing a girl with long bangs and a neat ponytail.

"Are you perhaps Echizen-san?" she asked. Ryuji nodded in reply.

"Was there something you wanted?" he questioned.

"Um, just that Fudo senpai is looking for you…" she said timidly.

His eyes shot open, "Fudo senpai?"

She nodded sharply before turning away and scuttling off.

He stood up and brushed himself off, his eyes scanning the area for the older boy. From what he picked up, he didn't seem to be around. Quickly checking the time, he realized there was still a long wait until his next game and decided to head off and go look for him – he wasn't about to go and disrespect his senpai for no reason.

Walking past the club room, he took a quick look inside and left when no one was in there. He then checked areas around drink taps and small, secluded places where one could warm up like he did. In all honesty, he was about to give up when he rounded a corner and was suddenly thrown against a wall.

"Senpai." Ryuji greeted, only slightly fazed. His head throbbed from the sudden movement but he didn't show it.

Fudo seethed, "You cheated didn't you?"

Ryuji kept silent. Was Fudo that desperate he'd resorted to blame him for cheating?

"So I'm right!" The older boy stated when Ryuji didn't answer.

He sighed, "Look, if you want a rematch, just ask."

Ryuji found himself being pushed into the wall again, "A rematch isn't going to fix anything! You cheated already!"

"Then… you're asking me to forfeit the tournament?" Ryuji asked – even though he definitely wasn't going to.

"EXA – " Fudo was off when someone popped around the corner.

"Who said they wanted to forfeit?" the boy questioned, his eyebrows raised at the two.

Ryuji stepped away from the wall and fixed his collar before replying nonchalantly, "Nobody did. Now, excuse me senpai, but I should really warm up for my next match."

"Wait, I can help you." Fudo smirked, seeming sure of himself.

But the brunette just shook his head, "No thank you, but I prefer to warm up alone." He took a pair of earphones from his pocket and plugged them in.

The boy walked away, leaving Fudo dumbstruck as the other boy shrugged. He didn't know either of them, so he didn't particularly care what was going on anyway. He was only interested to know who wanted to forfeit the oh-so-great tennis tournament.

Looks like he must've misheard.

**B BLOCK COURTS**

"Look, just because you beat your senpai, doesn't mean you can get cocky." Aoba sneered.

Ryuji almost rolled his eyes in annoyance. Why do they always underestimate people? Isn't it better to be wary and overestimate? Especially if you've never played against them before, let alone see the play.

"Which?" Ryuji cut off whatever Aoba was about to say.

The boy huffed and replied, "Smooth. Don't think you've got a chance at winning, kid."

Shrugging, he spun his racket and watched as it landed on the smooth side, "Your serve." He looked back up and saw a girl standing on the other side of the fence, staring intently. She seemed to be muttering to herself, but he brushed it off and got ready to receive the ball.

"Ha! Take that!" Aoba grunted as he slammed the ball with his racket. But the control was off, giving it more spin than needed.

Ryuji watched with his eyes wide as the ball flew toward him, moving to the side to let it pass through to be stopped at the fence, the ball stuck in one of its holes.

"15 – love!"

Aoba gave out a short cackle and pointed at Ryuji, "Don't get hopeful, kid. I always knew Fudo was weak."

Ryuji frowned, he'd finally figured out why Aoba kept taunting him. Straightening up from his receiving position, he spoke, "Are you sure? Or is it that you envy him, and were hoping that my win was just some kind of fluke? No, don't get ahead of yourself, senpai, because things are about to get pretty… wicked."

_**Please, please, please review!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I hope you all enjoy this chapter :D  
I was going to put the Kirihara vs. Echizen match in here, but then it would be too long, so it'll be in the next chapter.  
This is kind of a filler chapter as well**_

_**As always, I can keep dreaming, but I'll never own Prince of Tennis :(**_

**B BLOCK COURTS**

Aoba was beginning to regret laughing at the Echizen. He was crazy – scary even. He was almost like a monster.

He dropped to the ground, having let another easy ball pass him. The whole game had been dominated by the younger boy; service ace after service ace, along with fast returns he hadn't expected. Even the new move he'd been practicing for days – weeks even was easily returned.

His knees shook as he stood up and watched Ryuji throw the ball into the air. The short brunette boy jumped up after it, making Aoba freeze as he realised he was going to do _that_ serve again.

But why did it matter? He'd totally bombed out anyway, and he hadn't earned another single point after the first serve he'd made. He didn't even know how he did it. He just played it off as though he did.

"Game and match to Echizen, 6 – 0." The referee announced.

Wait… when did he even serve? Aoba glanced behind him and saw the fuzzy green ball lying there. He clenched his teeth. This was unfair. He'd trained so hard to get this far… and then this… this _kid_ comes along and ruins it all!

Ryuji straightened from his position and tucked his racket under his arm. He began to walk to the net with his other arm outstretched for a handshake, but when he saw Aoba glaring at him as if he should go die in a hole, Ryuji decided against it and instead turned to the bench for his water bottle.

The girl who had been watching since the start of the game was still there, gripping at the fence as if it were her lifeline. She was short – around his height, and had short black hair with her bangs held back with a head band.

"You'll catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that…" he muttered, picking up his water bottle and taking a swig.

"AWESOME!" her sudden shout surprised Ryuji, making him choke on his water and spit it out in a coughing fit. He looked up to glare at her, but found her hand clamped tightly over her mouth, "I'm sorry." She whispered.

He shook his head, packing the rest of his belongings away, "Whatever, it's alright."

"It's just… you looked so cool out there!" she skipped over and gave him a hard pat on the back when he walked out of the courts.

Ryuji shrugged, "It was nothing."

Her eyes widened, "It was _nothing_? It was _NOTHING_?! Are you kidding me? That was definitely _something_."

He gave her a pointed look and stopped walking, making her stop also.

"What?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"You're a nuisance." He stated bluntly and continued on walking to the results table.

Her eyes widened and she bounded up to him, "Aww, come on. We can be friends! I'm Tanaka Sora. But, you know as friends you should just call me Sora."

"Hn…" Ryuji kept walking until he reached the results table, Sora still trailing after him.

"He won 6 – 0!" Sora chirped before Ryuji could open his mouth, "It was awesome! It was like, boom! Bang! Hi-ya! And then GAME OVER!" she said dramatically, waving her hands around.

Ryuji, though, was not amused, "Please don't make fun of my tennis."

"Huh? I wasn't doing anything like that!" her eyes widened as she looked at him pleadingly, "I won't be annoying if you just be my friend…"

"No."

"Please?" she begged, clasping her hands together.

"_NO_." Ryuji felt his temper rising. _'Breathe in, breathe out.'_

"Aww. You'll regret it." She said in a sing-song voice.

"OI! Sora, what're you waiting for? We gotta get going." Another girl's voice yelled.

"Ah, well, duty calls… you know what? How about you meet me at the gates after school? We can go grab a bite to eat or something." She called out while waving as she ran off.

Ryuji sighed, "I told you already. I'm _not_ your friend." But he secretly felt warm inside. She didn't know who his brother was… so that meant she genuinely wanted to be his friend. Right?

He looked at the time. Hmm, lunch sounded like a great idea.

**TENNIS CLUB ROOM**

"Ah, I heard that the freshman in the B block is faring well." Yanagi scribbled into his notebook whilst talking to Sanada.

"We'll see when he plays against Kirihara." The vice-captain said, degrading everyone else's abilities, "He does not seem to be fit for the final regular's spot. He's merely the last resort who deemed decent enough."

"Sanada." Yanagi spoke sharply, "May I ask you… have you actually seen Echizen-san play?"

The said boy tensed up. No, he hadn't actually gone out of his way to watch the brat play… but there was no need for that.

Already knowing what Sanada's answer would be, Yanagi continued anyway, "Well, his next game is up against Kirihara. I'm sure many people will be watching in the first half hour, as the Marui vs Jackal game starts at 3:00." Although he didn't say it, there were those unspoken words of 'I'll be there, watching too'.

There was no way he would admit it, but the data he had on Echizen Ryuji was very… empty with many blank spaces to fill.

In the background, a whistle blew and the two looked at each other. Sanada picked up has racket and began to make his way out of the door.

"Well, Sanada," Yanagi stood up from the bench he had been sitting on, an unreadable expression plastered onto his face, "let's have a good match. Shall we?"

They walked out of the clubroom towards block A.

**THE ROOF TOP**

Ryuji opened his bento and said his thanks before digging in. It was quiet and peaceful for once. None of the regulars were around, and there was a light breeze.

Of course, he wasn't one to dwell on his emotions, but he couldn't help if the past was to come back to him.

"_Hey Ryuji!" an overly sweet voice spoke._

_The brunette turned around in his seat to face one of the popular girls within the school, "Yes, Kate?"_

"_Wanna be partners for the project? We can do it at your house." She asked, fluttering her eye lashes._

"_Sorry, but I prefer to do my projects alone." Ryuji shook his head. No doubt she only wanted to be partners to see Ryoma._

"_But… please?" she pouted, "Everyone else already has a partner."_

_He looked around, his eyebrow raised is disbelief. All the boys were glaring at him, telling him to back off. Yep. Everyone else _totally_ had a partner._

_Ryuji shook his head again, "Sorry. Not this time. I think Lucas still needs a partner." He nodded his head in the general direction of the class clown – who, by the way, was currently picking his nose._

"_Uhm. Gross." Her pretty features wrinkled in disgust, "Come on, just this once? I'll never ask you again!" she begged, her hands clasped tight together._

_He sighed. He really had to use his last resort, didn't he? _

"_I can't be your partner. My grandmother died, and Ryoma is going over for her funeral in place of both of us. Since I have a phobia of planes, I'm not going. It'd be nice if you could leave us alone to grieve our loss for some time." He put on a solemn expression. By the time she found out he had lied to her, it'd be too late to switch partners anyway._

_Kate looked shocked, "Oh my! Poor Ryoma! I really hope he's okay. Well, if you must insist, I'll partner up with Olivia instead. But you have to promise me that I'll be your partner for next the next assignment we're given." She called as she linked arms with her 'friend'._

_Ryuji groaned and let his head hit the table with a thud. He'd never partner up with her, even if she was the last person alive._

_He could just imagine it – him doing all the work, while Kate followed Ryoma around his house like Karupin number 2._

Ryuji dropped his chopsticks into his bento, no longer having an appetite to fill. He'd eaten half of it, so he should at least have some energy to last him the next match.

**SCHOOL CAFETERIA**

"So Kirihara, how do you feel about your upcoming match?" Niou smirked, taking a large bite from his sandwich.

"Hmm? Against the Echizen boy?" Kirihara blinked innocently before shrugging, "I don't know. I'll beat him easily anyway."

Niou smirk grew even wider – if possible.

"W-What?" Kirihara exclaimed, slightly scared that Niou was tricking him into something, "He's like… he's like another Sanada senpai!"

"Hmm, now that's an idea." Niou put a finger to his chin. It would be interesting to see what ticked the Echizen off.

The seaweed head froze. He knew that look from anywhere – behold, Niou's trickster side has once again, been unveiled. Well, at the very least, Kirihara wouldn't be pranked anymore as it seemed as though the bleached-haired boy had found his new prey.

Kirihara looked down at his empty plate and pouted, he was still hungry, but he didn't have enough money. His stomach grumbled, asking to be filled. He looked over at his currently daydreaming companion. He waved a hand in front of his faced.

"Oi… Niou senpai?" He snapped his fingers, managing to break the older boy out of his reverie.

"What?"

"Do you have any more money?" he asked.

Niou snorted, "No. And if I did, why would I give it to you?"

"Because you're my senior and you should always help your juniors in need." Kirihara pleaded.

The trickster rolled his eyes and reached out to flick Kirihara in the forehead before leaning back in his chair.

"Ouch!" The younger boy's hands flew up to nurse his head, "What was that for?"

"Because you were being an idiot. Idiot." Niou retorted.

"Hey! Stop calling me an idiot!"

"There's a reason why you're called Bakaya you know."

**THE GYM – BASKETBALL COURTS**

Someone jumped with the ball in her hands, ready to be shot when someone else jumped up after her. Her fingers brushed against the ball as she managed to tap it away from the key.

"Ah, crap." The girl who'd lost the ball muttered as they both landed. The basketball rolled away, and a small first year ran after it, scooping it up and looking for someone to pass to.

"Get back into defence!" two girls called as they rushed back.

"Pass left!" Another girl yelled. The ball was thrown toward her as she took the ball and weaved through the defenders, while still having control of the ball.

"Someone screen her!" the opposition shouted, "You guys are getting lazy! Run back!"

There were multiple squeaks of shoes hitting the polished wooden floors at a fast break. The ball was passed off once again and was then dribbled into the key. The girl continued to do a lay-up, the ball rolling around the rim of the net before falling in as if it was in slow motion.

The scoring team let out a positive shout and high-fived each other.

"The freshmen seem quite good this year." The vice-captain of the basketball team walked up and commented to the captain, "Maybe we should step up our game." She joked as an afterthought.

"Yeah, but it seems as though she," the captain pointed to the black haired girl, "is the one who is carrying the team. She's rebounded and taken the steal multiple times already. She even made a few three-pointers."

The vice-captain looked over at her, "So… what are you implying?"

"Make her a starter player. I'm pretty sure her name is Tanaka Sora. Ritsu-san can be bench warmer instead." The other girl ordered, "The Kanto tournament starts in 2 weeks. We want to have the best team we can get." But behind those words you could hear it; '_I_ want to be the best.'

"O-Okay." She tried to hide her anger and turned to call out to the celebrating team, "Tanaka Sora. I would like to speak with you."

The said girl looked over and gave her team mate another quick pat on the back before jogging over, "You called, vice-captain?"

She begrudgingly held out her hand for a hand shake, "Welcome to the starter's team."

Sora gave a long, hard look at the extended hand and pushed it away before giving a fake smile, "Well then. Please take care of me, _Onee-chan_."

_**Yeah, that's all for this chapter, as always, please review... it makes me happy, even if they're critiques :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Erm, I tried my best in this chapter and it turned out a bit short, so please tell me what you thought… I'm not sure if it's descriptive enough or not.**_

_**Besides that, thank you for all the favourites, follows (40! xD) and reviews!**_

_**I don't own Prince of Tennis…**_

**B BLOCK COURTS – 2:30pm**

A hand gripped at Kirihara's shoulder as he gave a slight jump and turned around, "Sanada senpai!"

"Did you warm up properly?" Yanagi asked from behind the stoic man.

The two had managed to push their way to the front of the crowd to get a clear view of the match that was about to commence.

"Yeah." Kirihara nodded vigorously under the intense stare of the 2 demons.

"Good, good." Yanagi jotted something down in his notebook, while looking across the court where Ryuji was standing, fixing a sweatband on his wrist, "Oh and, Kirihara, there is no need to hold back unless you're willing to... lose."

"Eh?" The younger boy stared at his seniors in confusion. But before he could question Yanagi any further, the referee blew his whistle and the crowd fell into silence.

"The Kirihara vs Echizen match is about to start. Could both members please step onto the courts." He spoke in a serious tone.

There was a scuffle of shoes as the two entered the caged area.

Walking to the net, the two of them bowed to the referee. Turning to face one another, they shook hands, gripping at them tightly, and stepped back. Kirihara gave Ryuji a look up and down – giving him a once over and assessing him and his abilities. Moments later he turned away with a huff.

"Which?" Kirihara asked, holding his racket by the tip of the grip.

"Smooth." Ryuji called, his voice was even – not a hint of nervousness in it.

"Ho ho… someone's cocky." Marui popped up next to Yanagi on the sidelines.

They watched on as Kirihara spun his racket and fell slowly back to the ground… on the rough side. The second year cracked a smile and pulled out a couple of balls from his pocket.

Ryuji simply just shrugged and walked to the receiving line, bending his knees and leaning over his dark green racket. He seemed to be slightly shifting from side to side on his feet as if he was impatient. Of course, who wouldn't be? Everyone wanted the chance to beat another regular

The second year bounced the ball up and down a few times with his racket before gripping it in his hand and looking over at Ryuji sharply.

"Kirihara, to serve." The referee called – the signal to the start of the match.

The crowd watched as the ball was thrown into the air, rising as if it were in slow motion. Kirihara jumped up after it, his hand extended and arm out behind him before he swung it over his shoulder, bringing his racket down with him and hitting the ball at the peak of its ascent.

The ball connected with the racket with a satisfying _THWACK_ as it went flying toward Ryuji who immediately sprang into action.

Taking a step to his right, he pulled his arm back and swung it forward for a forehand slice, sending the ball back to the opposite side of the court that Kirihara had served from.

The seaweed head seemed to realize this and ran to the ball in a diagonal direction, returning the ball, but at the same time, making sure that Ryuji couldn't hit a drop shot since he was close enough to the net to receive it.

This left Ryuji with no other option but to return the ball directly back to a waiting Kirihara, who smirked.

Bending his knees, he took a large step forward for momentum and let it guide him toward the ball. When the two clashed, the ball rebounded off his racket and straight toward the right corner of the court.

"15 – love!"

The crowd cheered loudly and there were a few annoying squeals of "KIRIHARA SAMA!" as everyone washed away any sign of doubt that Kirihara could possibly lose against this so-called 'rookie freshman'.

Ryuji seemed to blink as if he hadn't realised the ball had been returned. He turned to look at the small scuff mark that Kirihara had left on his side of the court and huffed, the fringe of his hair blowing up.

"A power player?" he wondered to himself, getting back into the receiving position.

Kirihara served once again, the ball heading toward him at the same speed that it had the first time. As he ran after the ball, he saw Kirihara moving toward the net and he hesitated.

'_If I hit a lob, he's going to go for the smash. But if I make a slice shot, I won't get back in time to receive it… and a drop shot is completely out of the question.'_

Deciding to hit the lob, he let the ball hit the tip of his racket, effectively stopping the spin on the ball as well as hitting it high up into the air.

Kirihara fell for the bait and immediately jumped up to reach the ball. He seemed to hover in the air for some time, letting Ryuji get back into a good position to receive the smash. Of course, he didn't know the strength it held, but it was worth a try to counter it.

As the tennis ball came blasting down, Ryuji stuck his racket out and the ball fell into its strings. The strings seemed to bend inward from the force that Kirihara had smashed it with, but the young boy somehow started to guide the ball backward, as if it was nestled comfortably within the strings. His arm suddenly snapped back forward, the ball shooting out from his racket and flying past Kirihara, a small breeze brushing by afterward. People gasped, the ball had only missed him by a narrow shot! If… it hit him then…

"Out! 30 – love!"

The crowd breathed out in relief as Kirihara stood in shock. There was no way he could have returned that smash… sure, it went out, but the ball was hurtling toward his side of the court at what should have been 186 kilometres an hour! But he controlled it like it was a simple stone in the pond!

He watched as Ryuji took the racket in his left hand and shook out his right one. Ryuji clenched and unclenched it a few times before getting ready to return.

"What even was that?" Marui asked.

"A failure attempt to return a smash." Niou snorted – it seemed as though the whole regulars' crew had arrived and were watching the match at hand.

"But he technically returned it." Jackal said, "He doesn't really seem like a power player though. Maybe he uses speed… or stamina even."

Everyone looked on in anticipation as Kirihara once again took his serve.

The two broke out into a rally and the second year immediately gained the upper hand, drawing Ryuji toward the net, and then hitting a lob that landed just inside the base line.

"40 – love!"

A few moments later, the first game had already been decided.

"Game! Kirihara; 1 – 0! Change courts!"

The two walked toward each other, meeting beneath the umpire's chair. They gave each other a heated stare before huffing and turning away from one another. They continued to walk on as if nothing had happened, but the people on the side lines sighed.

"Is it just me, or does it seem like they dislike each other?" one asked.

"Oh, honey… it's definitely not just you." A third year gave the younger girl a pat on the head.

Everybody turned back the look through the fence and saw Ryuji getting ready for service.

He let the ball bounce a few times, and then hit it to the other side of the court with a simple slice serve. It was sharp and fast, but seemed to lack the power. It dropped before it reached the net and the referee raised his hand.

"Fault!"

Taking his serve again, it went over the net and into Kirihara's side of the court. The boy swiftly hit it back with a backhand, causing the ball to take the opposite spin and buzz with friction.

This kept happening throughout the rally, Ryuji hit forehands, and Kirihara returned with backhands. No one knew why, but it just seemed to happen.

'_Tch, he's keeping me locked at the baseline!'_ Kirihara thought, nobody had really realised, but neither of the two had actually moved from their spot on the court since Ryuji had served.

Every time he tried to hit the ball away, it'd just fly back to the kid, but then, Ryuji didn't seem to be trying to hit it in the opposite direction. In fact, he was just hitting it straight to him! Where was the fun in this?

His eyes suddenly widened when he saw Ryuji bend his knees and tilting his racket lower. The sound of the ball connecting with Ryuji's racket with a hollow sound made him freeze in place.

He watched as the ball sailed over the net and downward to the ground.

The onlookers fell silent, and Ryuji felt as though a tumble weed would roll by at any moment – what was so special about a drop shot anyway?

"1-15 – love!" the referee stuttered out.

Shrugging, he served again as they began to rally, back and forth, back and forth… it almost seemed never ending.

The crowd watched, feeling the intense pressure although they weren't even playing. It'd only been 10 minutes since the game had started.

Finally, in the rally of stamina, Kirihara managed to hit the ball just out of reach, causing Ryuji to clip the ball with the rim of his racket. The ball was thrown off course and hit the net, falling back onto the ground on the brunette's side of the court.

"15 all!"

"Hn… not bad. Not bad at all." Ryuji cocked his head to the side with a smirk. The aura around him began to change and his stance changed slightly. Everyone watched with curiosity as he spoke a single word in English, "Wicked."

Wasting no time, Ryuji whipped another ball out of his pocket and threw it high into the air. Waiting for until it's peak of ascent, he switched his grip on his racket and hit a seemingly normal serve. The ball flew toward the other side of the court at a fast pace. But from Kirihara's point of view, not only was the ball fast, it looked quite _heavy_ too. He almost felt as if he could hear the ball buzzing from the speed it had been served at. He turned so that he faced the ball side on rather than from the front and stood in the stance for a super rising, he'd decided it was the only way to counter such a serve after all.

But what he didn't expect was for the ball to suddenly lose it's spin, right before it hit the ground and take the smallest bounce. Because of this, his return fell short and hit the middle of the net, falling back onto the court... on his side.

Ryuji let out a long breath, "Sonic Boom."

"W-What was that?!" The crowd erupted into murmurs, all in in awe, their mouths wide open.

Marui gave a low whistle, "Nice."

Beside him, Yanagi was entering data into his notebook like a frantic madman, "Racket angled at approximately 41 degrees, ball thrown at a height of 136 meters in the air… I don't see how this could have worked." He murmured under his breath.

Ryuji took another ball out and hit the same serve once again. Kirihara, full of determination, ran toward it. But as he pushed off, he stumbled and fell to the ground, the ball landing lightly on his head.

There was a sharp intake of breath and a few squeaks of fear. A red aura began to spread around Kirihara's body. He slowly stood up, swaying slightly and breathing heavily. A menacing chuckle rumbled from deep within his throat and the boy looked up with bloodshot eyes.

"I'll paint you in red!" he cackled.


	7. Chapter 7

_**I apologise for the lateness and thank you all so much for your support so far!**_

_**I know some of you are asking 'where is Yukimura?' but he'll appear within the next few chapters! :)**_

_**As always, Prince of Tennis is never going to be mine, and I have less than 1 in a 7 billion chance of owning it.**_

**B BLOCK COURTS**

"_I'll paint you in red…"_

Ryuji was confused, what did he mean, paint him in red? His head told him to bush what Kirihara had said off, but his gut told him to be careful. And by the way his opponent had changed… something just wasn't right. And was it just him, or was his skin turning red, and his hair, white?!

But he refused to show any fear. If he lost, it would make it harder for him to get his resolve back together – a thing he'd learnt due to a past mistake.

He took a deep breath in, and softly blew it back out. No way was he about to get crushed. Gripping his tennis ball, Ryuji decided to go back to using a normal slice serve.

As the ball flew over the next into the receiving box, he saw Kirihara glare at him menacingly as his breath hitched.

A rally began, both players not wanting to give up, every time Ryuji went for an attack, it was returned, and each time Kirihara tried to hit the ball at him, Ryuji managed to catch it and send it back.

The younger was clearly beginning to get tired and just managed to reach the ball, returning it clumsily.

The older boy returned the ball easily, putting more force than usual into it – knowing that Ryuji would try to return it anyway. Kirihara smirked as he looked toward Ryuji's right elbow. But of course, the brat wouldn't be able to return it without using extra effort.

He could see Ryuji's grip on the racket tighten as his muscles tensed. But he didn't care, Ryuji had fallen for his plan, and even as another outcome, he could end up putting too much strain on his arm, causing an injury.

Too easy.

Or so he thought. He watched as Ryuji moved slightly to the side, and the ball flew past.

"Out! 30 – 15!"

"Whoa! Nice watch, I thought he was about to do something cool though." A guy commented.

"That itself was pretty cool. How can he remain so calm in a situation like this?!"

'_Wrong.'_ Sanada thought, _'The brat is just stopping himself from visibly shaking. His muscles are tense, and his complexion is pale. He definitely scared.'_

Beside him, Yanagi seemed to be thinking the same thing. The brunette genius was watching Ryuji intently, while his gaze occasionally flicked back to Kirihara. He noticed Sanada staring and looked over, "Hmm, is something wrong?"

The stoic vice-captain shook his head no and grunted.

All attention was soon refocused back on the game at hand as Marui and Jackal quietly slipped away to warm up. No one seemed to follow.

Serving once again, Ryuji didn't use any special techniques. The serve itself wasn't even that great – it was one you'd see at a beginner's level. This was a problem… all of the enthusiasm for just moments earlier seemed to have slipped away, and the boy was now a lost cause.

The ball hit the net and fell to the ground.

"Fault!"

Ryuji swayed a little, seeing black spots cover his vision. His breathing way heavy and his throat felt dry, each breath scratching through his windpipe. He felt dizzy and drained – he cursed at himself for not finishing his lunch. He hadn't expected to have long, drawn out rallies and consume all of his energy.

Sluggishly throwing another ball into the air, his vision once again blurred as he went to hit the ball. It fell to the ground with a thud and he shook his head wildly to try and recompose himself, only to make it worse. Dropping to the ground he clutched at his head in pain.

The crowd began to get annoyed at his actions, "What is he doing, clowning around like this? Is he making a fool of Rikkaidai? This isn't a circus you know."

"But… it kind of looks like he's in pain or something."

"He would've said something by now though."

"Hmmm. Who knows…"

Ryuji could hear them talking about him, his head throbbing. I wasn't that he'd never experienced being talked about. But at least for once it wasn't a comparison of him and Ryoma.

"Oi, Echizen san, are you okay?" The umpire called from his chair.

He slowly stood up, "I'm fine." He muttered.

Serving, he gripped his racket tightly, knowing that Kirihara wasn't about to go easy on him.

Rally after rally, court change after court change, Kirihara had pulled ahead. It was at 4 – 2 in favour of the older boy as Ryuji was left a sweaty mess. He felt delusional, and he kept having double vision, confusing him of where the ball was.

He was hit a few times, and it stung for the slightest of moments before the fatigue overwhelmed the pain.

Ryuji was weak as a child, but to fall at this – just because he'd lost his appetite. He wasn't about to give up.

"Even the supposed freshman rookie can't hold his own against the beasts of the Rikkaidai regulars. I'm starting to feel sorry for him."

People nodded, "Just look at him, all battered and bruised because of Kirihara's devil mode."

"So unfortunate, and he was playing so well at the start on the match too. So much for a calm composure…"

They continued to talk amongst themselves, no longer paying attention to the game. It wasn't really that interesting anymore, watching Ryuji get dominated like every other club member up against a regular. A few even left to observe the Marui – Jackal match over at the other courts.

However, a sudden gasp averted their attention back to the two.

"Whoa! Would you look at that! Did he just faint?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**SCHOOL INFIRMARY**

"… He shouldn't have been playing with such low energy levels. Did he eat anything at lunch today?" a woman's voice was speaking hazily in the background.

"I'm not sure, I wasn't with him at lunch." A deeper, man's voice replied.

"I see… I'm sorry to bother you like this Sanada san, but could you monitor his eating habit for some time?"

"Excuse me?"

"You see, his mother and father told me he was weak as a child, and was easily sick. He had to skip school quite often. Not eating enough could cause him to become frail again. Looks like he drew the shorter straw of the two." The woman sighed.

"Ahem, I don't mean to pry, but 'of the two'?" a curious tone asked.

"Didn't you know?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Well then, if he hasn't told you, then maybe it's not my story to tell either."

"Then how come you just… told us about…?" A more childish-like boy then complained, also somewhat curious to know.

"That was because it was essential for you to know. Otherwise you'd be questioning as to why Echizen san needs looking after."

"But…" Kirihara's eyes flicked to the movement behind the school nurse, "Echizen!"

Everyone in the infirmary looked toward the boy.

"Sorry." He muttered, "It was an inconvenience for you guys to bring me here."

"Did you hear everything?" The nurse asked, looking a little flustered.

Ryuji gave a slight nod of his head, "It's okay, they're bound to find out anyway." He turned to Kirihara and bowed, "Sorry, we never got to finish the game."

The seaweed head pouted, making Ryuji's heart drop. But then he suddenly smiled, "It was an unfair game. But next time, I really will win. Against you, and Yanagi senpai, and Sanada senpai and Captain Yukimura too!"

Ryuji gave a genuine smile – the first expression he'd expressed in front of the regulars, "I won't hold back."

The two shook hands.

Someone then cleared their throat reminding the two of the other presences in the room.

A chocolate bar was shoved into Ryuji's face, "Eat." The nurse said forcibly.

He begrudgingly took the sweet and put it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing. He looked over at the nurse with a look that asked, 'happy?', and she nodded in return.

"Now shoo, I've got papers to fill out." She pushed the four boys out of the room and slammed the door shut.

As they walked down the hallway, Yanagi broke the silence, "So the short straw of the two, hmm, Echizen san? What does that mean?"

"Nothing you need to know." Ryuji shrugged. But Yanagi's head nodded knowingly. He already vaguely knew about it, but wanted a confirmation.

Seigaku's Inui Sadaharu had just told him about his loss against a freshman rookie named Echizen Ryoma. Coincidence? He thought not.

"So what's going to happen with the regulars' tournament? Is Echizen disqualified?" Kirihara asked his senpai as they walked through the empty corridors and out into the yard.

They all looked at Sanada, who gave a huff and shook his head, "No. Only if he doesn't show up next game." He muttered.

"That's good! You still have a chance then." Kirihara looked over at the youngest of the small group – who seemed to be deep in thought, "Echizen?" He waved his hand in front of his face.

"Hm?" Ryuji's head snapped up to face the three.

"If you win the next game, you're a regular!" Kirihara said excitedly. He thought Ryuji was an alright boy, and compared to everyone else in the club, excluding the other regulars of course, he wouldn't mind having him around.

Ryuji gave a small nod, eyeing Sanada carefully before turning away and stalking off.

Kirihara gave a small pout and turned toward the vice-captain, "Doesn't he like you or something?"

"Well, he was slapped by Sanada on his first day…" Yanagi looked at the stoic boy, "maybe you should apologise. It wouldn't be good for the team if two teammates were on bad terms."

Sanada didn't say anything but looked at Yanagi in what seemed like disbelief. As if he'd let go of his pride and apologise to some kid. He wasn't even in the wrong, it was Echizen fault. He'd insulted Yukimura, and should have been punished rightly so because of it.

He saw the seaweed head and brunette look at him with expectant faces. He let out an inaudible sigh and tilted his cap down, "Fine." He grunted. He'd do it… one day.

**AFTER SCHOOL _**

Ryuji slowly packed his bag away. He'd changed into his school clothes – as the school had a rule that uniform must be worn to and from the school premises. Something to do with being united as a whole. It was a stupid rule, especially for those who participated in sports for their club, but he understood the meaning of it otherwise.

He personally preferred uniforms rather than casual dress like in America. He didn't feel like he was being judged that way.

Placing his racket carefully into the bag, he zipped it up before hauling it onto his shoulder and checking his pockets for his music player, phone and wallet.

Walking toward the entrance of the school, he absentmindedly stopped and looked around for a certain someone. When he couldn't find her, Ryuji decided that he would wait for another few minutes.

It was at this moment, he really questioned himself. If he'd denied the friendship between Sora and himself, then why was he waiting at the gates? Ryuji wondered whether or not it was too late to back out now.

"Ah! So you really did come!" she spoke cheerfully, waving at him wildly.

Nevermind.

. . .

_**Please Review!**_


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